Blessings

Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

I work with the most amazing teachers in the world and I couldn't ask for more. Through the good times and some bumpy times, we have stuck together in a way that just makes my heart smile. God has blessed our third grade team immensely over the past 5 years and this year more than ever I feel blessed by the women God has allowed me to work beside. Yes, we get irritated at one another and from time to time we may have a few cross words to say but we always come back to the place that makes us so unique... unity, compassion and integrity. We have gained a new friend, one that I happen to think stands out in the crowd because she is a true example of 'salt and light.'

She and I have worked in the same school for eight years but believe it or not, our conversations and interactions have been practically nonexistent. Of course we have talked and interacted but if I had known that she would bring such joy to our grade level, I would have tried to steal her away from her buddies a long time ago! :)

Reluctantly and at the last minute she was chosen to move to our grade level this year. Who could blame her for being reluctant...we know all too well the struggles of having to lose a teacher to another grade level. It is painful and scary. Even worse she had been working with the same group of people for many years that happen be her friends outside of school.

I imagine that she was unaware of the impact she might have on someone she had been working with for eight years. Sometimes we think that we are put in places for a reason and that God is using us to be a light for others in their time of need. In this season of my life, I believe God's 'behind the scenes' plan was for her to be a blessing in my life during my time of need. There is never a moment that she misses when someone is struggling with something, that she doesn't show up with a bible verse in hand and a piece of chocolate to remind you that God will take care of everything.
Yesterday was the anniversary of the death of her grandmother, a woman I am told had a hand in shaping who her granddaughter is today. If she were here today, I would tell her thank you. Thank you for teaching her granddaughter to be the kind of person that she is today...Who I believe she has always been but gone unnoticed because I didn't make the effort to get to know her for Dyon the person rather than Mrs. Duncan the teacher.

She may never read this or know that this post was even written about her but it was necessary. Few people in this world recognize those people who do for others without expecting recognition or payback. I wish that I had not been so wrapped up in my own struggles lately so that I would have remembered that yesterday was a day that she needed a bible verse and a piece of chocolate. She truly deserved it.